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Atypical Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (aCML)
What is atypical chronic myeloid leukemia?
Atypical chronic myeloid (MY-eh-loid) leukemia (loo-KEY-me-ah)—aCML—is a disease in which too many white blood cells called granulocytes (GRAN-you-lo-sites) are made in the bone marrow. There are also too many immature white blood cells, which are called "blasts."
What does aCML do to a person's body?
Over time, the granulocytes and blasts crowd out the red blood cells and platelets. People with aCML may feel tired and weak, and they may bruise and bleed too easily.
How common is aCML?
aCML is extremely rare. The exact number of cases is unknown. It usually occurs in elderly people but sometimes occurs in people who are middle-aged.
What causes aCML?
The cause is unknown. The actions of the bone marrow are complex and controlled by many factors, including the genes. Recent scientific studies have found a genetic change in some people with aCML that results in a combination of 2 individual genes. This new "fusion gene" creates a protein called a kinase (KY-nase) that causes some blood cells to multiply.
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